April Moon

Continuing our exploration of what celebration looks like in modern Pagan families, this is the next in our series of blogs from the Children & Families Team write about the traditions they have developed to celebrate the full moons of the year with their children aged 3 years and up, continuing with the April full moon.

April’s full moon for us is the seed moon, so this is the perfect time to get planting.  We have already been spending time preparing the beds and greenhouse, buying seeds, or finding the seeds we saved from last year’s harvest.  Hopefully, the cold weather is behind us now and the seeds will have a chance to flourish.  My 4-year-old loves spending time at the allotment, digging, weeding, and discovering nature, so this is an excellent way to help them connect to this month’s moon and our ancestors.  As we plant, we will make wishes, for them to grow along with the plants.

Another activity we will try is to make seed paper.  You mulch up old envelopes and scrap paper, spread it on a lined tray, and sprinkle over the seeds (butterfly and bee-friendly native wildflower mix works well for this).  When it is dry lift it and cut it and share it with friends, then plant your seed paper for beautiful wildflowers to grow.  

As usual, we will dress our moon altar with tokens for this moon. We will also make a seeded cake, I’m rubbish at making bread, and share this together as we thank the moon

Krys
Manager, Children & Families Team


This month’s April moon is associated with Easter with many in the general populace, but many pagans take an earlier Germanic deity, Ostara or Eostre, to be the focus of Eōstremonað. Whilst there is only very little information available in the literature on this Spring/Dawn Goddess and this moon period, the spirit of what she is attested to represent is plain to see.

This is a fantastic month for my Family and I as we start to venture out on walking adventures in the hills and peaks more fully, and my youngest son (6 yrs. old) is currently fascinated by the rebirth of the land in vibrant greens of bursting leaf buds while a rainbow of colours starts to appear in the fields, meadows, moors, and valleys. We’ve started freshening the garden, planting out veg and flowers which we’re sure will please the wights and the wildlife in the garden, and locally. We’re also building a new garden offering area which will hopefully be ready for the full moon too.

And yes, I’m sure there will be chocolate eggs involved later this month too…

Aaron
Northwest Liaison, Children & Families Team